Time Flies On

I take a week's vacation, start a new job, and next thing I know July is almost past and I haven't posted in months! Things have been crazy, settling into the new job and all. I won't bore with details - but I will post later with some game and book reviews.

The what comes next part

So the other post was getting too long, so I decided to make this a separate post. My really big news is that after 3 long months, I have a new job! I start April 12th, after a short vacation next week. Woohoo!

PAX and what comes next

So, so much has happened in a very short period of time! Last weekend I enjoyed about 32 hours of pure geekiness that is PAX (East.) I don't know if I can even do it justice here, but I have to share my experience.

FRIDAY:

I arrived later than intended to Boston, and so I was fairly behind in line and as such did not make it into the keynote or the first Penny Arcade panel. This was not a good start, as I was *very* much looking forward to the keynote by Wil Wheaton. Nothing I could do about it though, so I wandered around and tried to get my bearings. I explored the expo, and checked out the gaming areas. Eventually I ended up back outside the main theater, where the keynote had ended and the panel was proceeding. It was then that I noticed there was a table for Wil. (I also spotted Dr Who (aka crimsong19) whom I had run into earlier in the day.) A few of us formed a line, not even knowing if Wil would be doing a signing after the keynote, but really hoping he would. He did! We waited for nearly an hour, but eventually there he was, in all his geek glory.

I have to say I conducted myself pretty well when it was my turn. I had brought Just A Geek with me for him to sign, so I promptly handed that to him. I was wearing the shirt he had designed, and he commented on how the shirt looked familiar, the book too, and I replied with a not-so-witty "I thought you might recognize them." *Groan* Anyway, after he signed the book, I got my picture taken with him, and then, because I was part of the Cookie Brigade, I asked if he wanted a chocolate cake ball (not knowing then, *sigh* that he hates cake.) He politely declined, and although I also wanted to purchase Memories of the Future, I was so nervous and shaky by that point that I just thanked him and left. (I would spend the rest of the weekend trying to get a chance to buy that book. In the end, after waiting in line again for an hour, I ended up buying Sunken Treasure because I was just $5 short on cash. Plus side is, I have 2 signed books by Wil, and I didn't get all nervous and shaky the second time. Then again, I didn't say anything other than "how much are your books?" *sigh*) He was really cool though, and genuinely spoke with anyone willing to speak with him.

I honestly don't remember what I did immediately after Wil's signing. I think I wandered around again. I did go to the Nvidia panel at 6 - that was the next thing I was really looking forward to, and I LOVED IT! Made me wish I had waited a few more weeks before upgrading my gfx card. Oh well. CRANK THAT SHIT UP! That's right, Nvidia.

After the panel I stood in line for the Girls and Games panel. I met some really nice people. The panel, sad to say, was a complete let down. As bad as I felt for doing so, I ended up walking out.

Next I went and hung out in the Rock Band lounge until they closed up for the night, and moved on to the concerts. The Rock Band lounge was awesome, and the highlight was watching the game developers (maybe drunk, maybe not - I can neither confirm or deny) play their own game.

I missed Protomen, and the beginning of Anamanaguchi, but watched the rest of the concert. It was a great time, but I was definitely tired when 2am rolled around and I went out into the cold to try to catch a cab. Unfortunately, fighting a bunch of other geeks and drunks for a cab was a battle I was quickly going to lose. Enter Knight in Shining Armor. A friendly passerby stopped and offered me a ride. Got back to the hotel and fell asleep sometime around 4am.

SATURDAY:

Boy 8:30am came awful early. I also realized that I had been totally overwhelmed by everything the day before and hadn't eaten anything since breakfast! Saturday was much more relaxed - I knew the layout of things now, and made sure to take time for eating. I decided enough of the taxi business, and drove to the convention. Parking just down the street wasn't too bad - ended up being less than roundtrip taxi fare.

I started out with the Kotaku and Croal panel - another really great panel. I spent most of the day just wandering around and checking things out. After lunch I spent some time in my Codex costume, getting my picture taken and hanging out with some other cosplayers. Eventually though, my feet were just too sore and I ditched the costume. I didn't catch any other panels, but still had a great time in the expo and in the Rock Band areas. At 6 I thought I would go get dinner at P.F. Changs. After waiting for an hour (!) for a table, I was joined by a couple of fellow PAXers. (I hadn't met them before - they came in for dinner and upon hearing the wait time, they were going to leave, but I offered that they could eat with me.) Although we ended up waiting yet another hour for a table, we had a great time just talking about games, PAX, and technology. Turned out we all work in IT. Dinner was great (I'm using that word alot, but it was) and I got back to PAX in time to walk into the concerts for the evening. Bed was slightly earlier this time - about 2:30am.

SUNDAY:

Up at 8:30am again. Started off the day with brunch at Charley's with a group of fellow female gamers. Only 16 of the 30+ gamers showed up, but it was a good brunch anyway. I was feeling slightly ill though, so I didn't manage much of my breakfast. Ironically, the mimosa at the end of breakfast made me feel better.

I had absolutely no plans for Sunday, so I just did whatever struck me. I checked out League of Legends in the PC freeplay room, and played a few demos in the Expo. I discovered a veritable treasure trove of used games and had to exercise serious willpower to not buy a bunch of games I really didn't need (given that I had just purchased 6 new games prior to PAX.) My willpower was not so there when I went back to Bandland and purchased MC Frontalot's new cd, Paul and Storm's new cd, and a dejected pirate shirt for Justin. I spoke a bit with MC Frontalot and Paul and Storm, but (regrettably) did not take a picture with them. In the end I watched the finale of the Omegathon, and then, sadly, PAX was over.

So, boring play by play over, here is why PAX was so great:

1. It's gamers from all over the world getting together for one thing: games
2. I didn't go with anyone, but came away with several new friends
3. Developers, musicians, Gabe and Tycho, and special guests were all just there, in the crowds, hanging out with people. They were completely approachable, and so friendly. These are the type of people who I would never dream of meeting, and yet here they were! (One of my best memories is of Gabe and Tycho playing Rock Band in the freeplay area.)
4. The concerts! My friend Justin has talked about MC Frontalot, and Paul and Storm before, but I had never seen them. They were fantastic! I had a wonderful time at the concerts, and can't wait for VGO to release their cd.
5. Gaming, gaming and more gaming. If only I had more time for gaming!


Next year (yes, there is a next year) I will bring my PC with me so that when I need a break to sit and relax for a bit (and game) I can do that in the BYOC room.

The Choices We Make

As I believe I recently mentioned, I upgraded my computer for maximum game enjoyment. I was all set to hook my computer up to my TV with an HDMI cable and play Dragon Age...but I didn't have any HDMI cables. Thankfully, Amazon was able to supply me with several, at the low, low price of $3.23 each, and free shipping. I just needed to wait for them to arrive.

I received 2 packages in the mail from Amazon today - the HDMI cables, and Wil Wheaton's Just A Geek. The HDMI cables are still in their package. Instead of getting my high def on, I read Wil's book. Why? Because in the end, a game is cool, but books are the stuff of legend.

Holy Shit Batman!

I am so totally, completely in love with Dragon Age: Origins. For my gaming tastes I've always been into RPG's, and my primary game source is the PC. As the years go by there seem to be less and less RPG games for the PC, but the ones I find tend to be pretty good. I enjoy them at least, bugs and all. I'd fallen into a bit of a dry spell with PC games, and had resorted to MMORPG's. (I know, that has become a huge game field in its own right, but I never really got into it. I am extremely selective about the MMORPG's that I play.) I found that playing MMORPG's in beta was the most enjoyable, so I did that for awhile. Then I started seeing ads for Dragon Age. 

The ads looked good, as game ads tend to anyway, even if the game is complete shit. I decided it was definitely going on my "want to play" list. I didn't really get excited about it though, until after the game was released and I heard chatter about it on Twitter. Now I *really* wanted to play that game. Lucky for me, I got the game for Christmas.

Dragon Age is the first RPG I have played that by the end of it, I wanted to play it again. Usually once I finish an RPG, I never see it again. The reason for wanting to play it again is the same reason that makes this game so great - the story. Even though the basic events of the game will always be the same, you can have a vastly different experience playing it based not only on your starting character/storyline, but also on the decisions you make and the interactions you have with your party and NPC's. Speaking of decisions...wow! This game has some really tough moral dilemmas. I'm very much looking forward to the expansion coming out.

Gushing about Dragon Age aside...

So far this year has been ultra exciting for me, as far as my geekiness goes. I've played Dragon Age, and am rebuilding my computer with the intent of hooking it up to my HD TV to play Dragon Age again with the graphics set as high as possible. (As excited as I am about playing HD Dragon Age, I'm just as excited about upgrading my computer. It's been too long since I've mucked about in the guts of a computer, and I've missed it.) 

But that's not the best part...

For the first time, Penny Arcade has brought PAX to the east coast (PAX East, not to be confused with PAX Prime.) I've always wanted to go to conventions like Comic-Con or PAX, but they're always on the west coast and so I haven't been able to go. When I heard about PAX East I was thrilled that finally there would be something on the east coast - in my backyard no less! I had to go. 

I'd almost forgotten about it until Feb. 3rd when I noticed a retweet by @wilw about weekend passes for sale. I immediately went to the site and ordered my 3 day pass. I had good timing apparently, because later that same day, they were completely sold out! Now I can't wait for the end of March to get here so I can PAX out for a weekend. 

The cherry on top of this geeky sundae - Wil Wheaton was announced today as the keynote speaker at PAX East. Having been a fan of his during his ST days, to being a fan now of his books, blog, and overall Secretary of Geek Affairs-ness, I am just thrilled beyond words that he is the keynote speaker. Hopefully I will make it through the weekend without any embarrassing fangirl moments. 

Happy New Year...I think

So here we are, in 2010, and I have not been very good about blogging. I have a lot going on, which I can't get into yet, but hopefully it will all get worked out soon. In the meantime, I finished reading the Codex Alera. For those who have not read this, it is a series of 6 books by Jim Butcher. You follow the journey of a furiless shepard boy as he grows into a young, powerful man (with furies!) leading his people against the deadliest foe they've ever encountered. Fantastic series, great character interaction and growth - I can't say enough good about it, except to read it for yourselves.

That said, I would *love* to see Codex Alera in movie format! A movie for each book, otherwise you'd be cutting far too much out of the stories. If you've read the books, just think of it: the Canim, the Marat, the Icemen, and the Vord all done in the same incredible motion capture animation as the Na'vi from Avatar. Not to mention what could be done with the furies! The battle scenes could make LOTR and 300 look paltry in comparison. I wouldn't even care if the movies were each 3 hours long - it would be incredible.

I think I just talked myself into reading the entire series all over again.

Are you listening Mr. Butcher?

Shut Up and Drive

To my fellow drivers,

I have a few comments that I think will go a long way to improving everyone's road experience:

1. If I can see the shadow of my car in front of me because of your headlights, you're either driving too close, or have your highbeams on. I'm not too happy with either of those, so BACK THE FUCK OFF.

2. If I drive slower because you're in a hurry and decide to crowd me, guess what, BACK THE FUCK OFF.

3. If I come to a stop and you have to slam on your brakes and angle your car as though you are going to go around me, you need to BACK THE FUCK OFF.

4. To anyone who drives an SUV, truck, minivan, van, or any other type of vehicle that is higher off the road than a sedan: if you're driving behind a sedan at night your lights are at their eye level. That means you're blinding the driver. Please BACK THE FUCK OFF.

5. If you're in such a hurry that you feel it necessary to pass another vehicle at night, in a non-passing zone, going up a hill on a blind curve...you need to slow down and BACK THE FUCK OFF.

So in conclusion, if everyone would just BACK THE FUCK OFF, the world would be a better place.

Thank you.